Apple is stepping up its war to steal Android customers

The tech company has launched a campaign aimed at persuading people using an Android phone to give it up and buy an iPhone.

It's reminiscent of Apple's iconic ad campaign mocking the performance of Microsoft's Windows compared with Macs — but this time round, it's Google in the crosshairs.

On Monday, Apple released three new adverts on YouTube, on the back of five last week. (We first saw them on 9to5Mac, and you can watch them below.) They're short, about 15 seconds a pop, and each focuses on a single issue: security, performance, speed, or transferring photos.

The overriding message is the same: You get a better experience on an iPhone, and it's easy to switch platforms.

They won't run on television but appear well-suited as pre-roll ads that pop up before videos on YouTube and other social media sites.

Apple also has another weapon in this attack. On May 22, it launched a dedicated website that aims to persuade people to switch. It answers questions they might have — "Will it be easy to switch to iPhone?" "Will iPhone be easy to use?" — and finishes with a link to buy an iPhone.

"There's no need to save your stuff elsewhere before switching from Android," Apple tells the potential customer. "Just download the Move to iOS app from the Google Play Store, and it securely transfers your content for you. That means things like your photos, videos, contacts, calendars, mail accounts, message history, and free apps — including Google Apps. And you can trade in your old smartphone, if eligible, for credit toward your new iPhone."

The iPhone 7 Plus.Karlis Dambrans/Flickr (CC)
Apple has just three apps in the Google Play Store for Android apps: Apple Music, a Beats Pill app to go with its speaker of the same name, and an app that moves a user's data to iOS. That app launched in 2015 and even suggests users recycle their Android phones at an Apple Store once they're done.

If you're wondering why Apple is so aggressively going after its competitors' user base, it's because it needs to. As the markets of major smartphones mature, attracting "switchers" is increasingly important for Apple to grow.

CEO Tim Cook frequently brings up "switchers" on quarterly earnings calls with investors as evidence of how well the company is doing. Earlier this month, Cook said Apple "saw the largest absolute number of switchers outside of greater China that we've ever seen in the same period," according to MacRumors.

Here's the recent advert promoting the security features of the iPhone: